Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 May Become One Itself is inspired by RPG classics

From the first time we met Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33 At the Xbox Games Showcase last June, it was clear we were in for something special. And every time the debut developer of this incredible looking game, Sandfall Interactive, has shared tantalizing glimpses of its debut game since then, the hype among RPG fans continues to grow.

That brings us to today's Developer_Direct, where we traveled to Montpellier, France to meet the minds behind one of the most exciting new RPGs in years and learn more than ever before. After discovering that this surprisingly small development team is working out of a French mansion (!), the development team peeled back even more layers of their finely crafted work Mille Feuille of an RPG that reveals delicious details about the game's emotional story, the original world and the way the gameplay innovates classics of the genre. They also shared the release date of April 24th; you can pre-order here and play it from day one with Game Pass!

Recently I met with a few members Expedition 33 team for a recording of the official Xbox podcast – airing soon – where they kindly shared even more details about what we just saw.

From that first revelation, the depth of Expedition 33's turn-based combat immediately proved engaging; the implementation of real-time elements (like dodging or parrying), the variety of moves available to players, and the stylish visual flourishes that accompany the whole thing. As beautiful as it looks on screen, the team wanted to ensure that the gameplay had the necessary depth to support its stunning looks.

“We didn’t want the game to just have a pretty face,” Guillaume Broche, CEO and Creative Director, told us. “We wanted it to be like a game that felt like a real game. So each character has their own playstyle and you can really play them in many different ways – but they also feel very different and each have their unique mechanics and skill tree. “

During Developer_Direct, Sandfall explained another aspect of Expedition 33It offers extensive customization of the characters and playstyle you set before You go into battle. The game's innovative Pictos, modifiers tied to equipment, evolve into passive abilities called Lumina after four battles.

For example, one character, Lune, has a mechanic that causes her to create up to four “spots” at once each time she casts a skill. She can then consume these spots during combat, enhancing her abilities in various ways; The (pardon the pun) magic is in finding the right combination for your play style. Each character has their own unique mechanics, from Gustave's supercharged arm to Sciel's use of sun and moon-based “prediction” charges.

“What's really cool is that as you play through the game you change your gear a lot and get more and more Lumina, and by the end of the game you have a full list of passives that you can either activate or deactivate, and that allows for some crazy builds -Opportunities,” explained Broche. “This is where we really do some crazy combos, and this is where we expect players to really break the game – and we do Hope They’re destroying the game because that’s what it was made for!”

For all the strategic options on offer, it's the intuitive, real-time elements of the turn-based combat system that take center stage in every part of the gameplay we've seen. While this is a crucial part of the gameplay and will certainly appeal to those seeking an experience that challenges both the mind and reflexes, Broche assures those of us who are, shall we say, lacking: An axe-Caliber timing will have options:

“So of course you shouldn’t parry everything, that would be far too difficult. So we have difficulty options in the game, and depending on the difficulty options, the parry window and the evasion window are larger or smaller. If you play on hard mode and don't dodge at least 50% of the attacks, you're going to have some trouble. If you're in normal mode, it's a little more [forgiving] than that, and if you're in Easy… if you at least build your characters right, you'll get through without having to be a master con artist.”

All of this strategic depth is brought to life by the dynamic camera work and the alien beauty of the world Expedition 33inspired by the Art Deco style of the French Belle Epoque era. Art director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe explains that he wanted to avoid repeating things that he had already experienced throughout his life as a player:

“I just wanted to get out of the stuff that we've just seen a million times – science fiction, space, zombies and all that stuff.” I just wanted to get out there and see what I could come up with, that is original for me personally.

“Most of the research [I did was into] Actually they are ceramic textures… there are some very original shapes that I have seen. These shapes really inspired me to create the enemies we see in the game today. Plus, it also helps the environment. It was a [painterly] Atmosphere mixed with ceramics and crazy colors everywhere. It really helps that there’s an amazing story behind it!”

These inspirations really come together on the navigable world map, another reveal from Developer_Direct. This is once again inspired by JRPGs of the past, modernized and planned by Broche from the start.

“I’ve wanted a world map since the day I started working on this project in Unreal Engine,” he said. “I feel like it's such a cool thing that's almost completely disappeared from the gaming industry. Nobody does that anymore, and to me it was such a crucial and important part of what made old-school JRPGs unique. It's that feeling of traveling and [indicating that] We are an expedition… and we wanted the player to feel like they are on a great journey.”

This is when the size of Expedition 33 The world really comes into focus. Broche explains: “In the beginning it seems extremely, extremely big. And it Is very large. There are many levels to find… hidden bosses are also present on this world map; There are lots of secrets. And that’s what makes a world map so super cool, because it feels like a completely different exploration game… and really makes you realize how much you’re traveling.”

As much as we have seen, there is much more Expedition 33 awaits us, including a camping system and a mechanic where you fight against merchants to unlock more of their goods. It's all very ambitious for a relatively small team – but every time this team takes a shift, we can't help but be impressed by what they're building. Expedition 33 may stand on the shoulders of giants, but it looks like it could become an RPG touchpoint all its own.

That's not all we have for you Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33; In an upcoming episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, the Sandfall Interactive team will provide more behind-the-scenes insight into the game's development, including a new gameplay video. Pre-order today and stay tuned next week on Xbox Wire, YouTube, and the official Xbox Podcast feeds!